Antenna



Aiug. 13, 1957 L H, BOUCHARD 2,803,011

ATTORNEY l. H. BOUCHARD 2,803,011

Aug. 13, 1957 ANTENNA 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1956 F I G. 7

'5a INVENTOR.

IRVINE H. BOUCHARD FIG. a 577.47%@

ATTORNEY' Aug. l3, 1957 l. H. BOUCHARD 2,803,011

ANTENNA Filed June 22, 19% 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 ,W W pag/ ,404- l//OZ /ag/ [//M 74j x l J I 74 J ,74 'ze LJ-- @J/z W N M FIG. 9 FIG. IO FIG. Il

HG, l2

[0l /D w Y /2 /06 y Y INVENTOR. IRVINE H. BOUCHARD BY Fl G. l5

A TTORNEY United States Patent O ANTENNA Irvine H. Bouchard, South Bend, Ind. g

Application llune 22, 1956,` Serial No. 593,247

12 Claims. (Cl. 343-818) struction composed of a number of duplicate, inter-v changeable subassemblies.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an antenna which is preassembled in a collapsed condition for convenience and economy in `handling and shipping and which can readily be adjusted into its operating position at the place of installation.

. A further object of thel invention is to provide an antenna of the aforesaid type in which the driven elements and the reflector can be adjusted relative to one another at the place of installation to any oneof several television channels. j I

Another object is to provide yan antenna for television receivers, which is mounted on a mast using conventional stand-off fixtures and to which the lead can easily andL securely be attached with a minimum amount of time and work on the part of the service man.

Additional objects and 'advantages will become apparent from the following description .and accompanying drawings, wherein: l

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a television` antenna embodying my invention; t

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the antenna shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the antenna shown in Figure l;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a portion of my antenna taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of another portion of the antenna taken on line 5--5 of Figure 2; Y

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of a portion of the antenna taken on lline 6 6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the construction for retaining the reflector portion of the antenna in place;

Figure 8 is a partial cross sectional View of thedetail shown in Figure 7 taken on line 8-8 of said figure;

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail view of the structure for adjusting the driven elements relative to the reector;

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view of the structure,

Figures 12 and 13 are side and end elevational views of my lead connector;

ICC

Figure 14 is` aplan view of a modied form of my lead connector; and

Figure l5 is a cross sectional view through a portion of my antenna and a mast to which the antenna is secured by conventional stand-oit fixtures.

Referring more specifically to the drawings Figures l through 3'show an assembled television receiver antenna in position ready for mounting on a mast, consisting of front assembly or drivenelement 10, rear or reector assembly 12 and connecting supports 14 and 16 for holding said assemblies in a predetermined spaced relation. The antenna shown is adapted for all U. YH. F.,channel reception but can be adjusted to obtain optimum recep tion of any selected channel.A The front assembly con sists of a plurality of subassemblies 18, 20, 22 and 24 mounted on insulating members 26 for subassemblies 18 and 20 and member 28 for subassemblies 22 and Y24. While eight subassembliesareused in the antenna shown a greater or lesser number may be used to suit requiref ments, as for example the combination of subassemblies 22 and 24 may be omitted or additional combinations of subassemblies may be employed.

subassemblies 18, 20, 22 and 24 are identical in con# struction and interchangeable and consist of a tube or bar 30 having two closely spaced holes 32 and 34 near each end forrcceiving dipole or Whisker elements 36.,v

Both tube 30 and elements 36 arel preferably constructed of Yaluminum although other metal may be used if d esired. In assembling element 36 in holes 32 and 34 the element is first formed into a U-shape, the curvature of which has the same diamter as the distance between said holes, and the ends of the element are then slipped,

' through the holes until the tube is seated rmly against the curved portion of the U section. is held firmly in the holes the two prongs of the element are bent away from one another to the position shown in Figures 1 and 4, thereby locking the element securely in place in holes 32 and 34 and forming a good electrical contact between the element and tube 30. This lcon-- maintained between the element and tube despitethe.

usual accumulation of dirt and corrosion, since the vibration of the element prongs by the wind causes said prongs to constantly rub against the metal of the tube around the-v two holes, thus providing continual metal-to-metal contact between the element and tube.

Members 26 and 28 are preferably constructed of Bake;

lite, hard rubber, stiff plastic or the like and are provided with two transverse grooves 40 on one side near the ends thereof for receiving bar 30 of the subassembly and with two transverse grooves 42 on the other side for receiving the ends of connecting bars 44. Bars 30 and 44 are electrically connected and held rigidly in their respective grooves by a bolt 46 extending through said bars and members 26 and 28 at the bottom of the grooves therein. When the nut on the bolt is tightened the bars are pulled rmly against the sides of the grooves which align the two bars with one another and with the corresponding subassemlies of the other subassembly com'- binations of the antenna.

The rear assembly 12 consists of an open and coarse' mesh screen 50 of welded or soldered wire construction mounted on Vertical support 52 held rigidly in place by two pairs of cross members 54 and 56 connected to the upper and lower ends of support 52, respectively, by bolts While the element 66, connecting the sections of the member on opposite sides of the slots abuts against the wires near the intersection and prevents movement of the screen in any direction. These cross members can be easily assembled in place on the screen by merely bowing the member sutiiciently to permit the free section beyond the slots to pass` under the wires, before the members are fastened by bolts or rivets 58 and 60. As seen in Figures l, 2 and 3 vertical support 52 is placed. on one side of the reflector and cross members 54 and 56. are placed on the other side to give the reector greater rigidity and to hold the reflector and members 54 and 56 firmly together.

The front and rear assemblies are held in a predetermined spaced relation by supports 14 and 16, the former consisting of a bracket secured to the back side of member 26 by a bolt 70 and having one leg 72 secured to the rear assembly by bolt 58 and another leg 74 having a projection on the end thereof for seating into one of several holes 76 in Vertical support 52. Since the legs can be readily bent at the points where they join the front and rear assemblies, the serviceman can adjust the distance between the two assemblies to obtain the best performance by merely selecting the correct hole for projection 75. In order to facilitate bending of the two legs for making the adjustment and for collapsing the front assembly onto the rear assembly for packaging and shipping, transverse slots Si) are provided at the point where the bending is to occur. Support 16 is secured at one end to the center of member 28 by a bolt 82 and at the other end to vertical member 52 by a bolt 84. This support is also provided with transverse slots 80 to facilitate bending at the points where it joins onto support 52 and member 28 since support 16 must also bend when an adjustment in the spacing between the front and rear assemblies is being made and when the antenna is being collapsed for packaging and thereafter when it is being extended for installing.

Figure 1l illustrates a modified form of the adjustment means consisting of a slot in place of holes 76 and a bolt or screw 92 in place of projection 75. The modication has the advantage of being able to assume an infinite number of positions in the range of adjustments; however in order to facilitate making the proper adjustment for particular television channels a plurality of marks 94 for the various stations in tbe vicinity are placed along the side of the path of adjustment for member 74 and a single mark 96 is placed on member 74. An adjustment is made by aligning mark 96 with the mark representing a particular channel and then tightening screw 92 to retain the setting made. To collapse the antenna with this type of adjustment means, screw 92 is merely loosened and leg 74 permitted to slide downwardly in slot 90.

Figure 15 shows the manner in which my antenna is mounted onv the mast. Vertical support 52, which is U- shaped in cross section with the open side to the rear, is placed against the mast with the edges of the support in contact with the mast and the strap 100 of a conventional stand-off fixture 101 is insertedv through slots 102 and'104', shown in Figures 9, 10 and 11, wrapped around the mast 105,v and inserted in the slots of the rigid member 106 of the fixture. The strap is pulled tight and screw 108 is tightened to clamp the end of the strap against the mast and simultaneously place the strap under tension to pull the antenna firmly against the mast.

Two of these fixtures, one at the top and the other at the bottom of support 52, are normally used although a greater number can be employed if desired. While the screw in the fixture is shown as such, it may be replaced with the standard stand-oft` clip for holding the lead from the antenna.

The lead wires are connected to the antenna by clamps such as those shown in Figures 12, 13 and 14 connected to the center of bars 44. In Figures l2 and 13 the clamp consists of a flat section 110 paralleling the longitudinal surface of the bar and four legs 112 extending partially around the bar. The clamp is secured to the bar by a bolt 114 which, when tightened, clamps the end of one of the lead-in wires 115 between section 110 and the bar. In Figure 14 the clamp consists of an angular piece 116 clamped to the bar by a bolt 118 extending through section 120 and the bar. The wire is inserted through a hole 122 and between section 120 and the bar and bolt 118 is tightened, drawing section 120 rmly against the wire clamping it against the bar. Other suitable clamping means may be substituted for those just described.

After the antenna has been assembled and is ready to be shipped it is collapsed or folded by raising point 75 from hole 76, if the embodiment of Figures 9 and 10 is used, or loosening screw 92, if the embodiment of Figure 11 is used, and then pushing the front assembly toward the rear assembly causing supports 14 and 16 to bend at slots 80. When the antenna is in its folded position, it can be shipped in a relatively thin carton consuming only about one third of the space which would be required if it could not be folded. When an installation is to be made the front assembly is pulled away from the rear assembly the desired distance and point 75 inserted in the proper hole 76 or screw 92 tightened to hold leg 74 at the proper mark 94. The present antenna construction can be assembled, installed and serviced much more readily than presentk conventional antennas adapted for the same type of television reception and, while in service, will withstand adverse weather conditions more effectively than those in present use.

A few modifications in my antenna construction have been described herein. Other modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

l. A television receiver antenna comprising a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, a pair of closely spaced holes in each end of said bars, a V-shaped element of electrical conducting material held in said holes adjacent the point of said element, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation, electrical conducting members connecti'ng the corresponding bars of each pair and a terminal on each of said members for connecting the lead wires thereto, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member, a screen-like rellector and a pair of cross members secured to said support member at the ends thereof and connected to said reflector with the strands of said reector seated in slots at the end of said cross members, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member and having a slot at each point at which they are connected to said members to facilitate bending, a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at l more than one point on said support member, and means including a slot in said support member for mounting the antenna on a mast.

2. A television receiver antenna comprising a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, a pair of closely spaced holes in each end of said bars, a lf-shaped element of electrical conducting material looped through said holes, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation and electrical conducting members connecting the corresponding bars of each pair, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed supportV member, a screen-like reflector and cross members secured to said support member at the ends thereof and connected to said reflector with the strands of said reflector seated inslots at the end of said cross members, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member and having a slot at each point at which they are connected to said members to facilitate bending, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

3. A television receiver antenna comprising a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, dipoles mounted on said bars, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation, electrical conducting members connecting the corresponding bars of each pair, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member, a reilector and a pair of cross members secured to said support member at the ends thereof and connected to said reflector, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member and having a slot at each point at which they are connected to said members to facilitate bending, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point to said support member.

4. A television receiver antenna comprising a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, dipoles mounted on said bars, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation and electrical conducting members connecting the corresponding bars of each pair, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member and a screen-like reector mounted on said support member, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

5. A television receiver antenna comprising a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, a pair of closely spaced holes in each end of said bars, a V-shaped element of electrical conducting material held in said holes adjacent the point of said element, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation and electrical conducting members connecting the corresponding bars of each pair, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member and a screen-like reector mounted on said support member, and means for holding said assemblies in rigid spaced relationship.

6. A television receiver antenna comprising a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, dipoles mounted on said bars, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation and electrical conducting members connecting the corresponding bars of each pair, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member and a reector mounted on said support member, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

7. A television receiver antenna comprising, a front assembly having a plurality of pairs of electrical conducting bars, dipoles mounted on said bars, an insulating member rigidly holding said bars in spaced relation, electrical conducting members connecting the corresponding bars of each pair, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member and a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member and having a slot at each point at which they are connected to said members to facilitate bending, and av bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

8. A television receiver antenna comprising, a front assembly having a pair of parallel electrical conducting bars, an insulating member rigidly connecting said bars, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member and a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

9. In an antenna having a pair of parallel electrical conducting bars, a pair of closely spaced holes in each end of said bars, and a V-shaped element of electrical conducting material held in said holes adjacent the point of said element.

l0. In an antenna having a pair of parallel electrical conducting bars, an insulating member rigidly connecting said bars, a pair of closely spaced holes in each end of said bars, and a V-shaped element of electrical conducting material looped through said holes.

1l. In an antenna, a front assembly including driven elements and having insulating members for supporting said driven elements, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

l2. In an antenna, a front assembly including driven elements and having insulating members for supporting said driven elements, a rear assembly having a vertically disposed support member, a bracket connected to each insulating member and to said support member and having a slot at each point at which they are connected to said members to facilitate bending, and a bracket connected to one of said insulating members and being adapted to be connected at more than one point on said support member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

